Device for plaiting skirts



F. Y. AND L. E. CLARK.

DEVICE FOR PLAITING SKIRTS. APPLICATION FILED MAR- 10. 1921.

Patented Mar- 28, 1922.

esters.

FRED Y. CLARK AND L'ULA E. CLARK, OF LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA.

DEVICE FOR PLAITING SKIRTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 28, 4922.

Application filed March 10, 1921. Serial No. 451,240.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRED Y. CLARK and LULA E. CLARK, citizens of the United States, residing in the city of Long Beach, county of Los Angeles, and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Plaiting Skirts, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to a device for plaiting cloth for skirts and has for its principal object to provide means and method for producing uniform, straight plaits of various kinds in skirt material, whereby a certain amount of material can be uniformly plaited with plaits of such width and style that they will result in the material not being taken up with the plaits more than will properly fit the hip measurement of the person for whom the skirt is to be made. In other words, the size and style of the plaits determine the amount of goods required for a certain hip measurement. If only a certain amount of goods is had, it then becomes necessary for the plaits to be measured and made of such width and style as will not use up too much of the goods, but leave the plaited width to correspond to the hip measurement. 7

With our device plaits of any desired width and style can be easily and rapidly arranged in the cloth. The cloth can then be stretched so as to make the plaits straight and uniform. The goods can then be pressed in the manner hereinafter described whereby to permanently form the plaits.

In order to fully describe our invention, we have illustrated one form of the device on the accompanying drawing, which we will now describe.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a simple device for forming the plaits; and

Figure 2 is a sectional view through goods, showing certain plaits.

Referring now more in detail to the drawings, a frame is provided, consisting of the two side members, 1 and 2, with a permanent top piece, 3, therebetween, and an adjustable bottom piece, 4, as shown. The side members, 1 and 2, are provided with holes, and the bottom piece 4 is provided with bands to slide on the side members, said bands being also provided with holes, to receive the holding pins, 5, which may be attached to the side members by means of cords, 6, as indicated, to prevent misplacement of the pins 5. The holes in the side members are designated 1 and 2. Secured to the top and bottom members, 3 and 4, are pads or fabric strips, 7 and 8, and over these strips, or near them, are arranged measuring tapes, 9 and 10, preferably secured to the top and bottom members, so as to be always in place and ready for use. The measuring tapes are positioned in proper alinement with each other and are of the same graduations, whereby the cloth to be folded into plaits by measurement can be made uniform at both top and bottom edges. The material is indicated by the letter M.

The goods to be plaited is spread over the frame with its upper edge near the upper measuring tape, and the lower member 4 is adjusted to rest near the lower edge of the goods. The goods can now be folded by measurement, on the tape, and each fold secured to the pads or fabric strips 7 and 8, by means of ordinary pins, 11 as clearly indicated.

After the goods has thus been folded into the desired plaits and pinned, the lower member 4 is moved downwardly sufficiently for the purpose of stretching the entire piece of goods and causing the plaits to be stretched uniformly lengthwise, which re sults in making straight folds and therefore straight and uniform plaits.

While we have shown and described one simple form of device which can be used to work our method of plaiting skirt material and the like, we are aware that various changes can be made in the device as shown without departing from the spirit of our in vention and with which our method will necessarily be used, and we do not, therefore, limit our invention to the showing made, except as we may be limited by the hereto appended claims.

e claim:

1. A device for plaiting cloth comprising an open frame having two side members and two end members, one of said end members being adjustable toward and from the other end member, longitudinally of the side memhere, said end members being provided with means for pinning the edges of cloth thereto in folded condition, and graduated means on said end members, whereby the opposite edges of cloth placed thereon can be uniformly folded to form plaits, substantially as described.

2. A device of the character referred to comprising a frame having four members, one of said members being ad ustable toward and from the opposite member andlongitudinally of the other two members, means whereby to stretch the goods lengthwise of the folds, substantially as described.

Signed at Long Beach, 130's Angeles County, California, this 28 day of February, 15

on two of said members for receiving pins in 1921 alinement with each other, for pinning cloth in folds to'said opposite members, said pins being inserted through the cloth at the folds, V

graduated means for making said folds uniform at both ends, and means for holding the adjustable member in adjusted position, 

